VI
EN
Tran Duy Hai's journey with "Art Toys Teu - The Great Water Pavilion Battle" and Paladi Studio's character, a Gen Z boy dressed as famous figures, are two typical examples of this trend, with the desire for Vietnamese culture to continue living in contemporary life in a new form.
Spreading the love of water puppetry.
Water puppetry is one of Vietnam's unique folk art forms, born from the lifestyle of the people in the Northern Delta region, closely associated with the image of village ponds, rice fields, and traditional festivals.
In recent years, water puppetry has been "reborn" with a new perspective from young creators, resulting in contemporary and innovative productions. Driven by this passion, Tran Duy Hai (24 years old, Da Nang) nurtured the project "Art Toys Teu - Water Pavilion Battle" for about a year before officially beginning its implementation.
Water puppetry is being "reborn" with a new perspective from young creators, resulting in contemporary and innovative productions.
For young Duy Hai, his love for water puppetry in particular and Vietnamese culture in general is the greatest motivation for him to pursue this project. The process of implementing this project is not easy; every step requires intense concentration and meticulous attention to detail, in addition to knowledge acquired through self-study.
Duy Hai's love for water puppetry in particular, and Vietnamese culture in general, is the biggest motivation for him to pursue the "Art Toys Teu - Water Pavilion Battle" project.
The entire art toy collection took approximately 6-7 months to complete, during which he made numerous revisions from design and printing to final product finishing to ensure each model achieved the quality and spirit he desired.
The six characters, each with a different model, are all based on familiar figures from folklore but have been reimagined by Hai using his personal artistic language. The spirit of the art toys is the character Teu, with three different costumes, developed from the Teu character in traditional water puppetry in his own unique style.
Lão Năm Bội is a crocodile character combining folk tales about crocodiles who enjoy listening to traditional Vietnamese opera (hát bội) and the image of Ông Năm Chèo from the Southwestern region of Vietnam. The two bamboo characters named Anh Ba Trúc are inspired by the image of a strong, hardworking woodcutter in folklore.
Thủy Địa Lão is an adaptation of the familiar image of the Earth God. The purple-pink Ma Da character with a terrifying face was redesigned by Hai to be both eerie and symbolic. The only female character in the collection is Thi Mau, based on the image of village girls from the past.
Through these small characters, Duy Hai hopes to contribute to spreading the beauty of water puppetry in particular and Vietnamese traditional culture in general to young people both domestically and internationally.
“Among the characters, I have the most affection for Teu and Lao Nam Boi, although each character required a great deal of effort from me. Due to their complex details, the process of perfecting these two characters took a lot of time and required numerous revisions.”Hai said.
The first sales launch took place in July 2025, and while orders were quite positive, Mr. Hai proactively limited the quantity because the entire process, from design to completion, was done manually by him. The price of each model currently ranges from 400,000 to 600,000 VND.
“For me, the Art Toys Teu - Water Pavilion Battle set is not just an art product or part of a graduation project, but also my brainchild. Through these little characters, I hope to contribute to spreading the beauty of water puppetry in particular and Vietnamese traditional culture in general to young people both domestically and internationally.”Mr. Hai expressed.
A historical perspective is being "rejuvenated".
While Duy Hai's Art Toys Teu project explores the medium of water puppetry, the couple Nguyen Thy Phuong (32 years old, Hanoi) and Pham Trung Dung (27 years old, Hanoi) approach Vietnamese history by bringing prominent figures closer to young people through character portrayals in their Paladi project.
Ms. Phuong and Mr. Dung collaborated on the concept, design, and production, gradually expanding their team for the crafting process. After more than half a year of development, Paladi launched the MO character.
Nguyen Thy Phuong and Pham Trung Dung approach Vietnamese history by bringing prominent figures closer to young people through character portrayals in the Paladi project.
Ms. Phuong shared:“MO was born and raised in the digital age – where technology and social media open up a multi-dimensional flow of information and culture. Even living in peace, MO is always acutely aware of history, of the values that have been sacrificed to create the present, and of the responsibilities of their generation today.”
According to the initial idea, the name MO was derived from: MOmentum (strength), MOdern (modern), MOdify (progress), and more importantly, MO is an abbreviation of our son's nickname. The character's design was also based on the facial features of our little one.”
MO was born and raised in the digital age – where technology and social media open up a multi-dimensional flow of information and culture.
MO becomes a "shared space" for Paladi to tell different stories of each collection, beginning with MO Famous Figures vol.1 – Men's Collection, inspired by 9 prominent figures of Vietnamese history in various fields such as Ly Thuong Kiet, Tran Quoc Tuan, Yet Kieu, Mac Dinh Chi, Luong The Vinh, Tue Tinh, Nguyen Trai, Nguyen Binh Khiem and Chu Van An.
Instead of realistically portraying each character, Paladi chose to distill the spirit and core story of each individual, expressing it through the form of MO, making history more relatable and emotionally resonant for young people.
Among them, the portrayal of MO Tuệ Tĩnh left a particularly strong impression on Ms. Phượng, with his monk's attire, hands clasped in front of his chest in the Cundi mudra, a serene face in meditation, yet tears still falling due to longing for his homeland.
"Behind the figure is a plaque engraved with a tombstone image bearing the inscription 'Whoever returns to Vietnam, please take me with you',""It portrays the pain of exile experienced by the great physician. We particularly love the character of Tuệ Tĩnh because, in traditional medicine, alongside the renowned Hải Thượng Lãn Ông, Tuệ Tĩnh also made immense contributions to the country's medical field," the young author described.
The figures in the collection are made of resin, with a protective coating over the paint to prevent dirt buildup and ensure durability during display. The project, first shared by Paladi on December 25, 2025, quickly received positive feedback from the community. Each figure is currently priced at 380,000 VND.
"For us, each character is not just an art toy, but also a slice of history told through emotion, so that today's young people can see, touch, and thereby proactively step closer to their own cultural roots."Ms. Phuong expressed.
